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Gradual Crossover from Subdiffusion to Normal Diffusion: A Many-Body Effect in Protein Surface Water

Pan Tan, Yihao Liang, Qin Xu, Eugene Mamontov, Jinglai Li, Xiangjun Xing, and Liang Hong
Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 248101 – Published 11 June 2018
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Abstract

Dynamics of hydration water is essential for the function of biomacromolecules. Previous studies have demonstrated that water molecules exhibit subdiffusion on the surface of biomacromolecules; yet the microscopic mechanism remains vague. Here, by performing neutron scattering, molecular dynamics simulations, and analytic modeling on hydrated perdeuterated protein powders, we found water molecules jump randomly between trapping sites on protein surfaces, whose waiting times obey a broad distribution, resulting in subdiffusion. Moreover, the subdiffusive exponent gradually increases with observation time towards normal diffusion due to a many-body volume-exclusion effect.

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  • Received 24 November 2017
  • Revised 12 March 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.248101

© 2018 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics of Living Systems

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The Dance of Water Molecules around Proteins

Published 11 June 2018

A combination of experiments, simulations, and modeling has revealed the anomalous diffusion of water molecules along the surfaces of proteins.

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Authors & Affiliations

Pan Tan1,2,†, Yihao Liang1,2,†, Qin Xu3, Eugene Mamontov4, Jinglai Li2,5, Xiangjun Xing1,6,*, and Liang Hong1,2,*

  • 1School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  • 2Institute of Natural Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  • 3State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism and School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  • 4Spallation Neutron Source, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA
  • 5School of Mathematical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
  • 6Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing 210093, China

  • *To whom all correspondence should be addressed. xxing@sjtu.edu.cn; hongl3liang@sjtu.edu.cn.
  • These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Issue

Vol. 120, Iss. 24 — 15 June 2018

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